△ Peggy Hicks (right) with Gwangju Mayor Lee Young-sup GN: How do you think the Korean youth should be involved in improving human rights in Gwangju? Peggy Hicks: I think one of the most important things for the youth is to make sure that they stay informed and engaged. I think sometimes adults make it hard for the youth to feel like they are being heard, and it can be frustrating because if you do not feel like you are listened to, then it is easy to just sort of give up and step back. I think when you are not listened to, it instead becomes a time for you to step forward. I think we are at a place where the youth have so much at stake, and we see that with the climate movement, where the youth said, “Wait a minute, you won’t be here to see many of the consequences, but we will.” I hope that the youth of Gwangju will be part of not just that movement, but the movement for human rights generally. GN: Regarding that, what do you think Korean society needs to do to make that happen? Peggy Hicks: I was speaking with one of the conference experts earlier, and one of the things she talked about was how we often think about civil and political rights. Of course, the uprising was very much about having a political voice and being able to have a democracy that represents people; however, I think along with sustainable development goals, it should be recognized that political rights and civil rights need to go hand in hand with economic and social rights. In addition, we have to spend the same amount of energy defending people’s right to a job, an education, and to health care. If we do not, and we allow inequality in those systems, then we are creating the conditions that will then lead to denials of civil and political rights. It is so interconnected, and I think that is one of the things we need to learn and appreciate more. GN: Last question: What is the best insight you have gotten from working with human rights issues that all of us need to know? Peggy Hicks: My most important insight is that you learn more by listening than by talking. Too many conversations start with people having preconceived ideas of who is right and who is wrong. If we are going to be able to build a better world, we have to be able to listen to each other and understand even the perspectives we disagree with. We have to figure out how to do that better going forward. Photographs courtesy of The 9th World Human Rights Cities Forum Secretariat The Interviewer Nadya Hanaveriesa is a psychology student from Indonesia who enjoys war history and is currently studying at Chonnam National University. If she could go back in time to experience war, she would want to do it as a war journalist. This article is her first attempt at practicing journalism.
※ This article was originally published in Gwangju News November 2019 issue. Gwangju News is the first public English monthly magazine in Korea, first published in 2001 by Gwangju International Center. Each monthly issue covers local and regional issues, with a focus on the stories and activities of the international residents and communities. ▶ Read our magazine online at www.gwangjunewsgic.com
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